Parks, Trails & Recreation Master Plan

CLASSIFICATION + LEVEL OF SERVICE STANDARDS LEVEL OF SERVICE

evaluation was specific to parks, facilities, and amenities that came under the responsibility of the City. The LOS standards on the following pages should be viewed as a guide. The standards are to be coupled with conventional wisdom and judgment related to the particular situation and needs expressed by the community. By applying these standards to the population of Shakopee, gaps or surpluses in park and facility types are revealed now, and projected into the future. The full LOS study can be found in Appendix A.

Level of Service (LOS) standards are guidelines that define service areas based on population that support investment decisions related to parks, facilities and amenities. LOS standards can and will change over time as recreation trends, demographics, and economics of a community evolve. The consultants evaluated park facility standards using a combination of resources. These resources included market trends, demographic data, recreation activity participation rates, community and stakeholder input, National Recreation and Park Association PRORAGIS data, the community survey, and general observations. This information allowed standards to be customized to Shakopee. The inventory of parks, trails, and facilities fully available to the public from all public agencies should be considered when discussing a community’s LOS. However, facilities provided by private businesses, clubs, homeowner associations, apartment complexes, etc. are typically excluded from this analysis because they do not offer the same unrestricted degree of access as public parkland. While the school districts serving Shakopee residents contribute a great deal of field use and gym space, the focus of this

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